7 Creative Tricks to Save Your Time and Boost Work Productivity

This is one of the never ending subjects all busy people think about on a daily basis. There are various methods people use to boost their work productivity and many theories as to how one should approach this issue. We always want to achieve more and use the most of our each day.

In spite of all of the information you can find online on this topic, I feel like most of the advice really misses the point. It’s not about having thousands of solutions such as gadgets or habits up your sleeve. Having so many things to think about and organize is really only taking away your time and not helping you make the most out of it.

A lot of people end up being disrupted by their gadgets, apps, and habits because they miss the point. The point is not to adopt as many tricks as you can, but instead to use them properly. If you approach things the right way, they can work in your favor. If not, you will not achieve any results, and you will feel even more stressed than before.

1. Create a list of things you absolutely must do.

Create a short list, either on some phone app or on a piece of paper. This list should include the things that are essential to be done during that day and you should consider it sacred. You should use it as a reminder so that you don’t lose focus of what’s important. Create a couple of columns that shortly outline what must be done, or if you have to, add short specifics that concern that task.

Advertising

It should not be more complicated than that. This is your code, and you must stick to it at all times. Never allow something else to get in your way of achieving the goals you’ve set for a certain day. This brings us to the next trick.

2. Don’t allow yourself to get sucked in.

Saying to yourself “I must stay on schedule” is easy, but it’s often a hard thing to achieve, especially if you have an important position and everyone wants a piece of you. I can’t even count the number of days I woke up in the morning thinking that I won’t let anyone disrupt my plans during the day, and realizing after work that what happened was the complete opposite.

3. Use tools and apps.

You have probably created lists or flash cards with your responsibilities at some point, to see if that will motivate you to be more productive. To be honest it can work to some extent, but just like anything else, it can become tedious after some time.

A more interesting way of keeping track and increasing productivity is by using apps and tools. For example, at my workplace, we try different management tools just to keep things neatly organized and more entertaining. We use things like Toggl to collaborate on group projects, to have a smooth workflow and task distribution and to keep track of time. When you complete a project and know just how long it took you to complete it, you treat that time as a high score. Afterwards, you work harder in order to beat the record.

Advertising

We have also used Basecamp and Trello, since these apps can also work for group projects. However, it does not mean that you cannot use these tools outside the workplace as well. You can create lists of responsibilities and reminders can pop up on your computer or smartphone. You can even use it as a family, to distribute chores amongst each other. Give it a try; it really works.

4. Create hourly challenges.

This thing does not have an official name, although some people love to say – “get in the zone” but I just call it an hourly challenge. Basically, you challenge yourself to be fully focused and devoted to work for a whole hour. You set an alarm to go off, and once you start, you are not allowed to do anything outside of the task at hand.

Whenever we work, we tend to doze off and we just allow our train of thought to navigate our thinking, but if you are one hundred percent focused on your task for a whole hour, you will see just how much you can accomplish.

It’s important that you take a short break afterwards, before you get into another hourly challenge, because avoiding this can be really mentally exhausting.

Advertising

5. Take small breaks.

One thing that can seriously harm your productivity is work overload. You take on additional tasks and go all out on one day, and then you have a hard time mustering enough willpower to continue to work on the following day or for a whole week. It’s important that you do not overburden yourself, and that you take on moderate portions of your workload.

If you combine the hourly challenge with enough small breaks, you can get everything done really fast. Plus, you’ll have the rest of your day to recharge, and you won’t have an impression that you are exhausted, which will allow you to continuously work at the same level of productivity. With small breaks, you won’t get more work done, but you will manage to maintain the same level of healthy productivity, which is rather important.

6. Segment more copious tasks.

If there is one thing that will discourage you, it’s massive projects. When you know that you are going to work for a whole day, but you still won’t be able to complete the entire task, you will only end up feeling bad. So, when this happens, you need to segment the tasks into smaller parts, and view those smaller parts as daily tasks. It will make it easier for you to track your progress, and have a better sense of achievement after each day.

7. Group work.

Lastly, if you are having a hard time focusing, maybe you should try working in groups, provided that these groups consist of people who are eager to get the job done. When you are working in a group, you get that inner pressure of not wanting to hinder anyone, so you stay focused. You do not want to come off as irresponsible, so you force yourself to pay attention and be involved.

Advertising

To sum up, people very often face this problem, and it’s perfectly natural to lose enthusiasm. So, in order to solve these problems you need to innovate and try different tactics, you can also switch your tasks and do something a bit different, so that you are not doing the same things each day. It will also be useful to give group work a try or to try to come up with challenges to motivate yourself.

Feel free to use apps and to organize your tasks a bit differently to add more dynamics to your schedule, and you’ll be fine. Additionally, do not hesitate to fully utilize your holidays, and take a good rest, and make a good use of your free days, because if you want to stay productive on a long run you need to be fully rested.

Read this and stop feeling overwhelmed…for good!

Everywhere you turn are articles and books about how to be more productive, how to squeeze 27 hours of work out of every 24, how to double your work pace, how to do more and more all in the name of someday getting out of the rat race. Well this is about the side effects of those ideas. If we aren’t multitasking, we feel lazy. If we aren’t doing everything, we feel like we’re slacking. We compare ourselves to others who we think are doing more, having more, getting more and achieving more, and it’s driving us crazy. We feel overwhelmed when we think we have too much to do, too much is expected of us, or that a stressor is too much for us to handle. And we respond by lashing out with emotions of anger, irritability, anxiety, doubt and helplessness.

Advertising

This season especially is the most stressful time of year. Between the holidays, final exams, family gatherings and general feelings of guilt that it’s the end of the year, it’s easy to get overwhelmed thinking of all the things you still need to get done. But if you use these tips, not only will you get the important stuff done, you’ll keep your sanity while doing it!

Is this you?

Change your thought pattern-stop thinking negatively

When you feel overwhelmed, the first thing you do is start thinking negatively or begin to resent why it’s your responsibility in the first place! The first thing you have to do is to stop! Stop thinking negatively immediately. Instead, focus on the positive. If you’re stuck in traffic, think of how great it is to have some time to yourself. If you’re rushing trying to get things done by a deadline, think how lucky you are to have a purpose and to be working towards it. If you’re stressing about a final exam, think of how fortunate you are to be given the opportunity of higher education. After you’ve changed your thought patterns, you must then say to yourself “I can do this.” Keep saying it until you believe it and you’re more than halfway to ending feeling overwhelmed.

Advertising

Take a deep breath/change your body posture

When you’re stressed certain things happen to your body. You start to breath shallowly, you hunch over, you immediately tense up and all that tension drives your feelings of stress even more. Relax! Straighten your posture and take at least ten deep, cleansing, breaths. Force yourself to smile and do something to change your state. It could be as simple as giving yourself a hug or as silly as clapping your hands three times, throwing them up in the air and shouting “I GOT THIS!” Think to yourself, how would I sit/stand if I had perfect confidence and control of the situation?

Focus on right now

Now that you are in a better state of mind and are no longer thinking negatively, you need to focus on the here and now. Ask yourself this question: What is the most important thing I have control of and can act on right now? Keep asking yourself this until you have a concrete next step.

Take Action

Now that you know what’s most important and what to do about it, do it! Start with the first step and focus on getting that done. Don’t worry about anything else right now, just on what your first step is and how to get it done. Once that’s done with, determine the next most important step and get that done.

Let go of what you can’t control (the gambler’s theory)

Seasoned gamblers understand the importance of due diligence and knowing when to let go. The Gambler’s Theory is that once your bet is placed there is nothing you can do, so you might as well relax and enjoy the process. The time to worry is when you’re figuring out the best odds and making the decision of what to bet when you can actually take action. I used this one a lot in college. After an exam, there is absolutely no point in stressing about it. There’s nothing you can do. And the same goes for feeling overwhelmed. If you can do something about your situation, do it, focus and take action. But if you’ve done what you could and now are just waiting, or if you’re worried about something you have no control over, realize that there’s no point. You might as well relax and enjoy the moment.

Advertising

Relax and enjoy the moment

Stop feeling guilty

Finally, stop comparing yourself to others. If you are at your wits end trying to keep up with what you think you should be doing, you aren’t being fair to yourself. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t strive for improvement, just don’t go overboard because you feel like you have to. Only you know what’s really important to you, and your personal success journey so focus on what your top priorities are, not someone else’s.

Everyone feels overwhelmed sometimes. The important thing is to realize it’s normal and that you can do something about it by taking focused and deliberate action. Happy Holidays!